The Easy Bay is not the only place where I like the trails. I like lots of other places. And hiking is not the only thing I like to do on trails. I also ride a horse.
About 7 years ago, Maureen decided that she wanted horses in her life again (she rode her uncle's horses as a teenager). Before long she was spending lots of time being with horses, and I was feeling left out. So after 60 years of knowing next to nothing about them, I learned to ride, and soon we had two horses of our own. We have Zach, an Appaloosa, and Rio, a quarter horse. Both are now 24 years old, which is pretty old for a horse, but they are still in good shape. We also made lots of new friends among the equestrian community, and began going horse camping with some of them. One of the places that we went was Jack Brooks Horse Camp in Sam McDonald County Park near La Honda. It developed into a yearly event -- spending a week there every year with two other couples and their horses.
We usually went to Jack Brooks in early September, but this year we did it in mid-August. On Sunday, August 13 (my birthday), we packed our gear into the truck, went to the boarding stable, hitched up the trailer and loaded the horses, hay and bedding, and drove across the bay. At the campground, we found stalls for the horses, set up camp, cooked dinner -- it was a long hot day and a lot of hard work, but the good part was that we had all the next week to take it easy.
Our usual daily routine was to have a leisurely breakfast and hang around camp until late morning. Then we would saddle up and go for a ride for maybe an hour, maybe two. Then lunch and relaxing the rest of the afternoon. We took turns cooking dinner, so each couple only had to cook every third day. The only other thing we had to do was to check on the horses now and then, feed and water them, and clean stalls. Not really too much work.
It's really a beautiful place, on top of a big ridge covered with redwood and douglas fir. Around the campground there are grassy clearings with great views of the mountains all around. Most of the trails go along the ridge or down into the canyon of Pescadero Creek, about a 1000 ft. drop.
On two of the days, Maureen and I rode the Brook Trail Loop, which goes down into the canyon and back, mostly on single-track trail, often across very steep mountain sides. On the way down, we avoided some of the single-track by following a parallel fire road because we had been warned about yellow-jacket nests along the trail. Two years ago, one of our camping group, Norma, was thrown from her horse and broke her wrist after the horse was apparently stung. So we didn't want to take any chances with that. Near the bottom of the canyon, there are some old-growth redwoods with some very large trees, but the rest is all beautiful forest too.
About 7 years ago, Maureen decided that she wanted horses in her life again (she rode her uncle's horses as a teenager). Before long she was spending lots of time being with horses, and I was feeling left out. So after 60 years of knowing next to nothing about them, I learned to ride, and soon we had two horses of our own. We have Zach, an Appaloosa, and Rio, a quarter horse. Both are now 24 years old, which is pretty old for a horse, but they are still in good shape. We also made lots of new friends among the equestrian community, and began going horse camping with some of them. One of the places that we went was Jack Brooks Horse Camp in Sam McDonald County Park near La Honda. It developed into a yearly event -- spending a week there every year with two other couples and their horses.
We usually went to Jack Brooks in early September, but this year we did it in mid-August. On Sunday, August 13 (my birthday), we packed our gear into the truck, went to the boarding stable, hitched up the trailer and loaded the horses, hay and bedding, and drove across the bay. At the campground, we found stalls for the horses, set up camp, cooked dinner -- it was a long hot day and a lot of hard work, but the good part was that we had all the next week to take it easy.
Our usual daily routine was to have a leisurely breakfast and hang around camp until late morning. Then we would saddle up and go for a ride for maybe an hour, maybe two. Then lunch and relaxing the rest of the afternoon. We took turns cooking dinner, so each couple only had to cook every third day. The only other thing we had to do was to check on the horses now and then, feed and water them, and clean stalls. Not really too much work.
It's really a beautiful place, on top of a big ridge covered with redwood and douglas fir. Around the campground there are grassy clearings with great views of the mountains all around. Most of the trails go along the ridge or down into the canyon of Pescadero Creek, about a 1000 ft. drop.
On two of the days, Maureen and I rode the Brook Trail Loop, which goes down into the canyon and back, mostly on single-track trail, often across very steep mountain sides. On the way down, we avoided some of the single-track by following a parallel fire road because we had been warned about yellow-jacket nests along the trail. Two years ago, one of our camping group, Norma, was thrown from her horse and broke her wrist after the horse was apparently stung. So we didn't want to take any chances with that. Near the bottom of the canyon, there are some old-growth redwoods with some very large trees, but the rest is all beautiful forest too.
You can do this trail as a hike by starting at the Sam McDonald park headquarters, and going an additional 3/4 mile to the horse camp. My first visit to this area was done this way. In the mid-70's, I was working with Tom Taber doing maps for his "The Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Book". We did several hikes together gathering information for the book. My brother Richard, Tom, and I hiked the Towne Fire Road all the way to Pescadero Creek, and then back up Jones Gulch and through the YMCA camp there. The park had only recently been opened, and was only minimally developed, so we were semi-lost a good part of the way. I never forgot what a beautiful area this was, and I'm glad that I can still enjoy it today.
6.0 mi. -- 1450 ft. down and up
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